Irene Snitchler

"There should never be war anymore and never to forget what happened. No matter how much I would explain it, you cannot understand it. It was terrible; you cannot describe how bad it was. No one who didn’t go through it can understand how bad it was."

Name at birth

Irene Zuckerman

Date of birth

10/12/1927

Where were you born?

Klusz, Romania (later Hungary)

Where did you grow up?

Klusz, Romania (later Hungary)

Name of father, occupation

Edward, Grocery and antique business

Maiden name of mother, occupation

Hermina Berko, Helped in Family Store

Immediate family (names, birth order)

Parents, my sister Edith and I

Who survived the Holocaust?

Edith and I, we lost about 75 relatives

Name of Ghetto(s)

Klusz

Name of Concentration / Labor Camp(s)

Auschwitz Birkenau / Malchow / Ravensbrück

Spouse

Alexander Mann, Arthur Snitchler (both deceased)

Children

Sonya

Grandchildren

Two

What do you think helped you to survive?

I was young and healthy and full of life. I was together with my sister the whole time. G-d was with me, G-d helped me to survive. I was in Auschwitz, Ravensbrück (ammunition factory), Malho (bullet factory). My mother died at Ravensbrück two months before the war ended. We had so very little food; I don’t know how we survived. I’ve often asked myself, what was the purpose of my surviving? To have my grandsons, Jason and Gabriel.

What message would you like to leave for future generations?

There should never be war anymore and never to forget what happened. No matter how much I would explain it, you cannot understand it. It was terrible; you cannot describe how bad it was. No one who didn’t go through it can understand how bad it was.